From Chapter 32

(rough draft phase)

She didn’t respond. Her eyes were filling, and I wondered dimly why the idea of bringing me into the world was so much more poignant to her than the fact that I was standing in front of her now.

“Please,” she whispered, tremulous. “Don’t.”

“Why didn’t you just replace me?” I demanded.

“Because . . .” Tears slid from her eyes. “I couldn’t.”

I wasn’t moved. “Couldn’t?”

“I . . . I can’t have . . .”

The tiger slid out of my belly. Fenn.

Footsteps came up behind me. Intuition nudged, and I suddenly knew why the tiger had been issuing warnings. My heart sank. Fenn was approaching, and Morry’s face was crumpling, and I felt like the worst person on the face of the planet.

Fenn’s hand touched my shoulder. “What’s going on here?”

Too much. Too much was going on.

“Morry?” Fenn asked.

“I can’t—c-can’t have . . .” She dropped her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking, and Fenn rushed to her. He took her into his arms, holding her, comforting her. Because he was devoted to her.

Because he loved her.

He shot me an accusing look. “What did you do?”

Backing away from his disapproval, I shook my head, my mouth uttering wordless sounds. This had turned into a disaster. My life here was a disaster, come to think of it, and I couldn’t handle any more.

Whirling, I fled.